Good Food from Ah Mah (grandmother)

To me good food mean a value for money wholesome and tasty meal. Not those five-star restaurant or hotel foods that can puncture your wallet. My good foods are either from easy to cook home recipes, hygienic road side hawker stalls, food courts, coffee shops or restaurants.

Surprisingly, you can still find value for money foods from stand alone restaurants in the Klang Valley in Balakong, Sri Kembangan, Puchong, Kepong and Kelang Lama areas.

Today I am sharing with you Ah Mah's home cooked food = cook with one pot only. The YAM Rice.

During my childhood days, my grandparents and parents were farmers. We grew cucumber, long bean, french bean, pumpkin, sweet potato, tapioca, banana and bamboo shoots. We also reared pigs, ducks and chickens. We practised pure organic farming. No chemical fertilisers and no pesticides. The droppings from the ducks and chicken and the waste from the pigs were used as fertiliser. The ducks and chickens roamed freely in the vegetable plots hunting for insects and worms. They were fed only once a day with oats and corn. The pigs were fed with cooked banana trunks. rice husk and left over foods collected from restaurants. No commercially processed feeds for the pigs, chicken or ducks. Once a week the pigs were let out to roam freely in the bamboo farm to feast on the young bamboo shoots. Pigs were quite destructive when they were let free in the bamboo farm. So, their freedom was restricted.

Our products were sold to the traders at the Central Market (now this place has been converted to an art market for tourists). Our products were in good demand due to the "kampung" or "choi yuen" style of production.

Back to the YAM rice cooking. Because they were farmers and had little time in the kitchen, all ingredients were dumped into one pot to cook. First, the ginger, garlic and the shallot (all in strips/slice) are fried in the pot with a tablespoon of cooking oil. Once these spices turn brownish with strong aroma emitting, the dried shrimp and the pork (in small pieces of ten sen coin size) are added in and fry until cooked. Add two tea spoon of oyster or soy sauce , one tea spoon of sesame oil and salt. Stir fry. Add Yam (cut in small cube) and stir fry further. Finally, add the rice and water (appropriate amount) and start to cook. About half an hour after, depending on the fire, the YAM Rice is ready for eating. Yummy Yummy Yummy.

You may add sliced cucumber, spring onion and sambal belacan (cooked) to the YAM rice.